News

LSSP and CPSL felicitate Communist Party of China on 100th anniversary

Published

5 years ago

2021/06/19

Sahan Weerasooriya

DEW Gunasekera addressing the meeting at the headquarters in Borella

By Shiran Illanperuma

Sri Lankan political leaders from the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) and the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), joined 10 other political parties in lauding the centenary achievements of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at a virtual conference on Tuesday.

The Communist Party of Sri lanka (CPSL) hosted a multi-party virtual conference from its headquarters in Borella on Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC.

“We in Sri Lanka are having a fitting gathering to mark the great event. Not only all major political streams, but all major ethnic groups are represented at this historic meeting,” CPSL General Secretary G. Weerasignhe said in an introductory speech.

CPSL veteran and former General Secretary DEW Gunasekara conveyed revolutionary greetings to the CPC’s leadership and its nearly 92 million members. He said that the formation of the CPC in 1921, four years after the Russian Revolution, was a milestone in the entry of Marxism into Asia.

Gunasekera praised the CPC for its twenty-eight-year-long struggle which culminated in the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. “In applying Marxism to the concrete conditions of China, the CPC successfully brought about an alliance of anti-imperialist and anti-feudal democratic forces,” he said.

Gunasekara said that China had embarked on its first five-year plan amidst embargos, sanctions and continued military aggression in Asia. He said the acceleration of globalisation and technological advancement made the CPC re-evaluate the potential of capitalism, and the collapse of the Soviet Union reinforced the need for a new economic strategy.

“The self-critical assessment of the Chinese Communist Party with regard to the lost decades due to left deviationist policies was another salutary theoretical contribution made by the Chinese Communist Party. The three-pronged new economic strategy of planning, market and state intervention has been proved viable and effective by the 40 year accelerated development of the Chinese economy,” Gunasekara said.

He said that the CPC had brought radical change in the balance of economic order and contributed to the rise of Asia. He said that China’s resilience in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, its eradication of poverty, and investments via the Belt and Road Initiative have demonstrated the strength of the Chinese model and earned global admiration.

“All these remarkable achievements were possible due to the dynamic political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. They have not only sharpened the main contradiction between imperialism and the world community but also intensified the internal contradictions in the imperialist camp,” Gunasekera said.

Tissa Vitarana, General Secretary of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), the oldest political party and first socialist party in Sri Lanka, conveyed fraternal greetings to the CPC. He thanked China for donating doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka, and said that the LSSP wishes to strengthen bonds with the CPC.

“The USA and its allies have unleashed a Chinaphobia claiming that your intention is military conquest, not just trade. The truth is obvious, the USA has 403 military bases around China alone, with over a thousand worldwide. China’s only foreign base is in Djibouti, to fight the Somalian pirates,” Vitarana said.

“The USA cannot tolerate the fact that one of the world’s poorest third world countries in the 19th century is surpassing it. The Third World countries of the collapsing capitalist world are turning to socialist China for leadership,” he said.

“Like you, we want to see an end to capitalism, with its poverty and its perpetual threat to peace, and to join you and other socialist and communist parties to establish socialism globally,” Vitarana said.

The CPSL lobbied post-independence governments to establish diplomatic ties with Communist countries including China. The CPSL aligned with Moscow during the Sino-Soviet split but maintained cordial relations with the CPC thereafter.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Warning for deep depression over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area

Published

2 hours ago

2026/01/8

Priyan

Deep depression Track. [Source: RSMC]

Warning for deep depression over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area.
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre, Department of Meteorology at 10.30 a.m. on 08 January 2026 for the period until 10.30 a.m. 09 January 2026

The depression in the Bay of Bengal to the southeast of Sri Lanka has intensified into a deep depression and is centered near latitude 5.4°N and longitude 85.3°E, about 420 km southeast of Pottuvil at 05.30 a.m. today (08th). The above system is currently (10:00 a.m.) located about 300 km southeast of Pottuvil.

It is very likely to move west-northwestwards across the southwest Bay of Bengal and cross the Sri Lanka coast between Hambantota and Kalmunai between 5.30 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. on Friday [9th January 2026].

Hence, showery, and windy condition over the island, particularly in the Northern, NorthCentral, Eastern, Uva and Central provinces is expected to enhance from today (08th).

For the Land area:

DAMAGE EXPECTED:
• Damage to huts, temporary shelters and light structures
• Destroy the roof tops/ sheets etc.
• Damage to power and communication lines.
• Breaking of tree branches and uprooting of large avenue trees.
• Damage to paddy crops, banana, papaya trees and orchards.
• Damage to harbor yachts
• Flash flood
• Sea water inundation in low lying areas in the near coast.

Action suggested for the Land area:
• Coastal hutment dwellers are advised to move to safer places. Other people in the affected areas to remain indoors.
• People living in hilly areas (particularly landslide prone areas) and low lying areas in river basins are requested to be vigilant.
• Drivers and people using roads in the hilly areas are requested to be vigilant.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• General public is requested to be vigilant regarding impending extreme weather situation.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.
• Requested to be attentive about future advisories issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regard.

Latest News

Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces and showers about 50-75 mm in other areas

Published

8 hours ago

2026/01/8

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 08 JANUARY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 08 January 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

The depression over the Bay of Bengal, located to the southeast of Sri Lanka, was centered near latitude 5.3°N and longitude 86.0°E, about 490 km southeast of Pottuvil, at 11:30 p.m. yesterday (07). It is expected to move west-northwestwards and towards the eastern coast of the island during next 24 hours. This system is likely to intensify further into a deep depression during the next 12 hours.

Cloudy skies can be expected over most parts of the island.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Uva, Central and Southern provinces. Showers or thundershowers may occur at several places elsewhere in the Island after 1.00 p.m. Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern and Uva provinces. Fairly Heavy showers about (50 – 75) mm are likely at some places in the other areas of the island.

Strong winds about (50-60) kmph can be expected at times over the Eastern slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Eastern provinces and in Hambantota, Gampaha, Colombo and Monaragala districts.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

News

Easter Sunday attacks: Govt. says wife of Katuwapitiya Church bomber alive

Published

9 hours ago

2026/01/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sara Jasmine

Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala told Parliament yesterday that information uncovered during ongoing investigations indicated that Pulasthini Mahendran, also known as Sara Jasmine, linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, was not dead.

Responding to a question raised by Opposition MP Mujibur Rahuman, the Minister said there was no confirmation that Sara Jasmine was currently in India, despite speculation to that effect. He added that investigators suspected she may have fled the country and stressed that further inquiries were underway to establish her whereabouts.

“If necessary, the government will take steps to obtain a warrant,” Wijepala said, noting that legal action related to the Easter attacks had already been initiated, based on available evidence.

Minister Wijepala said the new government had launched an thorough probe to determine whether a political or other conspiracy had been behind the attacks that killed more than 270 people in 2019. However, he declined to disclose certain details in Parliament, citing the risk of hampering investigations.

Sara Jasmine, Mohammed Hashtun, who bombed St. Sebastian’s Church, in Katuwapitiya, in 2019, was long presumed to have died in a suicide blast in Sainthamaruthu, days after the attacks. Wijepala said attempts by previous administrations to establish her death had failed, with recent reports indicating that DNA tests conducted at the time were inconclusive.

During the debate, MP Rahuman recalled that senior figures, including then-Opposition MP Nalinda Jayatissa, had previously claimed Sara Jasmine was in India. He questioned why authorities had not sought an open warrant for her arrest whether the issue had been raised in talks with Indian officials.

Wijepala, responding on behalf of Deputy Minister of Defence Arun Jayasekara, said the government would not hesitate to pursue legal action, including warrants, if necessary.

By Saman Indrajith